Tripod



No. 752,423. l PATENTED FEB. 16, 1904.

Gaf. SMITH.

TRIPOD.

lAPPLI(`.|.A' IION FILED NOV. 19, 1903.

NO MODEL. -Z SHBETS-SHEET 1.

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PATBNTED PEB. 1.5., 1904. G. P. SMITH.

TRIPUD.

APPLICATION PILEDNOV'. 19, 903.` v

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INVENTOR ATTORNEY 1510 MODEL.`

WITNESSESE No. freenet.

n UNITED 'STATESl Patented February i6, 1904.

PI'VIFNT OFFICE.

eUsTAvA FRANK SMITH, oF NEW BERLIN, omo.

TRIPOD.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Lettersk Patent No. 752,423, dated February 1 6, 1904.

Applicationfled Novemherlg, 1903. :Serial No. 181,859. '(No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern: J

Be it known that I, GUsTAvA FRANK SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Berlin, in the county of Stark and State 'of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tripods, of, which the following is a specification.

A The invention relatesto tripods used for.

supporting a photographers camera, an engineers transit or level, or other like instrument; and the objects of the improvements are to provide means for readily attaching and detaching the camera or instrument on the head of the tripod, means for readily attaching and detaching the legs of the tripod, and means for readily extending or contracting thelength of the legs. I attain these objects by the construction, mechanism, and arrangement illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- -K Figure l is a vertical section through the middle of the head of the tripod, showing the manner of attaching the camera thereon; Fig. 2, an under side view ofthe head of the tripod without the legs; Fig. 3, a fragmentary planv view of the bottom plate of the head, showing a leg attached; Fig. 4,. a similar view showing a legY being attached or detached; Fig. 5, a sectional-view of the bottom plate on line 5, Figs. 3 and 4;, showing mannerof attaching and detaching a leg; Fig. 6, an

' underperspective View of the tripod-head,

showing parts of the legs and an ordinary camera thereon; Fig. Y, an elevation of part of la leg, showing the manner of extending and contracting it;' Fig. 8, a cross-section on line 8 8, Fig. 7, showing the cam-collar tightcned; and VFig. 9, a similar section showing the cam-collar loosened.

Similar numerals refer to similar ,'parts throughout the drawings.'

, The head of the tripod-is composed of thecircular top and bottom plates' l and 2, which are held apart in a fixed relation'bythe posts 3, to the ends of which they are attached by the screws 4 or other suitable means. The periphery of the head is composedof the rotatable collar 5, which is provided with the internal rim-grooves 6 and 7,Which are adapted to freely receive and operate on the edges up and down.

of the top and bottom plates. The opposite spiral grooves 8 and 9 are provided on the inside of the peripheral collar, which grooves are adapted to receive and guide the ends of the diametrical bar 10, which bar is located in the head, withone of the posts 3 adjacent on each side at or near each end. By this construction and arrangement the diametrlcal bar Is the rotation of the peripheral collar the bar is free to be moved up and down between the posts by the travel'of the ends of the bar in the spiral grooves in the collar. n

The preferably half-round grip-bars 11 and 12 are located in the neatly-fitting aperture 13 in the middle of the top plate, in which aperture the bars are adapted to be moved The half-round bossl 14 is formed -on the inside of one of the grip-bars, which operates in the similar socket '15,formed on the inside of the other bar to form a fulcrum or pivot for the 'operation of the bars. At this fulcrum-point the two. bars are bent outward from each other, and the lower end of each bar is bifurcated to form the similar ears 16, which extend on each side of the diametrical bar. The ears of the respective grip-bars are connected by the wrist-pins 17, which pins are adapted to operate in the slots 18', extending laterally from the middle in the diametrical bar, which slots are preferablycurved concentric with the fulcrumpoint of the grip-bars.A By means of these pins and slots the grip bars 'are together raised and lowered bythe movement of the diametrical bar. In the upper free ends of the grip-bars are provided the half-round sockets 19, which form ljaws adapted to engage the depending ball 20, which is formed or attached on the shank 21 in the recess 22 in the 'under side of the camera 2,3.

To attach the camera on the head of the tripod, the peripheral collar is rotated to move the diametrical bar, and therebyv the grip-bars, upward, and :when the fnlcrum-point of these bars passes above the upper plate the bent or iiared-out sides of the bars below that point operate in the plate-aperture to open apart the upper or jaw ends of the grip-bars, so

IOO

that the ball in the recess of the camera can be entered between them, as shown 4by broken lines in Fig. 1. rotated in the reverse direction, which moves the diametrical and grip bars downward,-and as the fulcrum-point of the grip-bars passesv tightly around the depending ball of the The downward movement is con-- camera. tinued by the rotation of the peripheral collar until the bottom of the camera isbrought down to a firm bearing on thetop plate of the head ot the tripod. To disengage the camera, these operations are just reversed.

The several rectangular apertures 24 are provided in the bottom plate of the head, at the corners of which apertures are provided the endwise-extending lnotches 25, and .at the middle of the sides are provided the inwardlyprojecting pivot-pins 26. The upper, ends of the legs are bifurcated and are made on each side in the form of the flat plates 27 out of a flexible andelastic material. In the middle of each plate, near the end, is provided the pivot-apertures 28, which are adapted to receive and journal on the pivot-pins. The inner sides 29 of the end edges of the leg-plates are curved concentric with the pivot-apertures, and in the inner side edges of the-legplates, below the line of the pivot-apertures, are provided the releasing-notches 30. The outer side edges 31 are curved concentric with the pivot-aperture to a point below the line of the pivot-point, and thereby forms the stopshoulders 32 in the outer edges of the legplates, and the outer sides 33 of the end edges of the leg-plates are curved eccentricto the pivot -apertures and form the square shoulders 34 opposite the pivot-points. Y

To engage a leg with the bottom plate of the head, the side plates are bent or sprung toward each other, as shown in Fig. 4, and the lower end of the leg is thrown inward .and under the head, as shown by broken lines in Fig. 5.v In this relation the end edges of the I leg-plates are entered in one of the bottom plate-apertures, the releasing-notches 30 receiving the inner edge of the aperture and the outer sides 33 of the end edges entering past the outer edge of the aperture as far as the square shoulders 34, as shown in broken lines in Fig. 5. This position vbrings the pivot-'apertures 28 in line with Athe pivot-pins 26, which pins are entered in-the apertures by permitting the leg-plates to spring outward and apart from each other, after which the lower end of the leg can be thrown outward to the position shown in Figs. -1, v3, and 5, in

which position the inner sides of the end edges enter and operate in the inner end cornernotohes of the bottom plate-aperturesand the outer side edges 3l enter and operate in the' outer end corner-notches of the apertures, the

The peripheral collar is 'then inner sides of which notches hold the leg-4 plates'outward, so that they are retained on the pivot-pins and' also stien the joint. The stop-shoulders 32 coming against the under side -of -the bottom plate limit the outward movement of the leg. To disengage the leg, these operations are just reversed.

The legs are made of the separate tubular sections 35, 35, and 35h, one telescoping inside another. In each case the smaller section is provided with the external rim-flange 36 at its upper end, which engages the internal rim-iiange 37 at the lower end of the larger section and prevents the two sections from pulling apart. Longitudinal slits 38 are cut in the lower ends of the larger leg-sections, and the external cam-grooves 39 are formed near the lower end, preferably vopposite the internal rim-iianges. The cam-collars 40 are provided to enter and operate in ,the camgrooves of the leg-sections, by the rotation of which collars the slit ends of the large leg-sections can be tightly 'compressed around the 'smaller sections-therein, as shown in Fig. 8. The inner .face of the internal rim-ange of the largesection is preferably grooved t0 correspond with lthe similar grooves on the outerside of the smaller. section next to its external rim-ange, as at 4l in Fig. 7 the engagement of vwhich grooves increases the adhesion of the two-sections and prevents a slipping yof one on the other. To contract the leg by telescoping the smaller sections within .the large sections, the cam-collars are rotated to kpermit the slit ends of the larger sections to spring away from the smaller sections, as shown in Fig. 9, when the Various 'sections can be telescopedv lone Within the other, after which the foam-collars can be again rotated to tighten and hold the sections in this relation.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination a camera or the like, having a recess in 'its bottom with a ball depending on va shank in the recess, anda tripodhead having an aperture'in its top plate and a pair of grip-barsfadapted to operate upward andjapart and downward and together through the aperture, there being jaws on the upper ends'of the bars-adapted to grip the ball.

2. A tripod-head comprising'a top plate hav- IOO ing a'central aperture therein,fa rotatable peripheralcollar having opposite internal spiral grooves, a non-rotatable vertically-movable diametrical bar with its ends entered in the collar-grooves and having laterally-extending slots in the middle, and a pair of fulcrumed grip-bars neatly fitting inthe plate-aperture, the grip-bars being bent at the Afulcrum-point and 'having wrist-pins lon their lower ends adapted 'to loperate lin thelateral slots of the diametrical bar.

'3. Ina tripod, a head -plate havinga rectangular aperture with notches extending endwise from the-corners and pivot-pins extending inward from the sides of the apertures;

and a bifurcated leg formedwith elastic side plates adapted to be entered in the aperture Iand having pivot-apertures adapted to be en- 5 gaged on the pivot-pins; the inner partof the end edges of the side plates being curved lconcentric with the pivot and there being notches in the inner side edges below the pivot-point, and the outer side edges being curved centric with the pivot with stop-shoulders below the pivot-point, and the outer part of the endM edges being curved eccentric to the pivot with.l

square shoulders opposite the pivot-point.

4. A tripod-leg comprising telescoping tu- 15 bular sections, the large section having an in- 

